Is Intercom.io Really Worth The Cost?

That means you probably know that it's a product that allows SaaS companies to observe, learn from, engage and support their customers.

It's a useful tool for companies looking to find problem areas in their software, and also maximise conversion rates and user retention.

But is it worth the cost?

This article takes a look at the key areas of functionality in the product and how having these features could benefit your SaaS business.

Features & Functionality

Intercom.io's features are split into 4 key areas:

Observing - Intercom allows you to see exactly how your customers are using your product. You can see when they last logged in, when they've performed key actions within your software, and more. All in real time.

Want to see who signed up yesterday? Easy. One quick click and the list is in front of you.

Want to know which users have signed up in the last week, but haven't yet activated their accounts? Easy, one click and it's up.

You can observe how individuals are using your application, and where they're getting stuck to identify areas for improvement.

Learning - Intercom's functionality allows you to send in-app messages to people using your applications, and request their feedback. You can use this information to learn what users think of new product features, and find areas of your product to improve.

Engaging - Intercom has numerous features that'll help you to better engage users throughout the customer lifecycle, from becoming a lead to using your software on an ongoing basis. You can setup triggers to determine when customers are likely leave, and step in to send a message asking them if there's anything you can do to help before they cancel, reducing churn.

You can automatically email people who sign-up, but then fail to complete certain steps; show users how to get started with your software when they first login and constantly educate users based on how they're using your software, to increase activity.

Intercom.io allows you to engage customers in a manner that's highly effective, and without wasting lots of development time building your own custom triggers and software.

Supporting - Intercom's support functionality allows your customers to easily request support, and for your team to get the context they need to help your customers faster. Team members can each see which support questions other members of the team are working on, and also get rapid insights into how the customer has been using your software, so that they can identify bugs, or help customers to use specific features.

Support requests can be tagged, so that you can quickly analyse areas which are giving customers problems, and prioritise product development. Common replies can also be saved and categorised, to save support staff time.

Value for Money

Intercom has a simple pricing structure -- you simply pay for the number of users you have. Prices start at $49/mo for up to 1,000 users, with up to 50,000 users setting you back $409/mo.

For the vast majority of SaaS companies, this will be a highly profitable investment. The level of insight that Intercom brings to the table when properly integrated, and the improvement in communication it will bring to your company should drive up monthly recurring revenue.

If your product costs more than a few dollars per month, it doesn't take more than a few extra customers retained or gained to quickly generate a positive ROI.

Have you used intercom.io or similar software before? How did you get on with it? Let us know in the comments below.